Wisconsin FFA Association
Environmental & Natural Resources
Career Development Event
Instructions – You should receive this packet and a Scantron upon completing the Group Practicum. Upon completing the Multiple Choice Written Exam, you will report to the station that matches the number on this exam. There will be three individual stations – 1) Identification, 2) Water Ecology Test, and 3) Soil Nutrient Test. After the Group Practicum, there can be NO TALKING during the competition. If you have a question, please see a competition official. Talking after this point will be grounds for dismissal.
The questions for each station are located in this packet. Be sure that the number of the question you are answering matches the question on your Scantron sheet. After completing the section of this packet for that station, please report to the next consecutive station (i.e. when you complete Station 3, report to Station 1, then 2). Upon completing the Written Exam and all three stations, please turn in your Scantron and Exam to a competition official.
General Biology and Ecology – 15 Questions (“Exam” Section)
1. Why are decomposers necessary for ecosystems?
a. They allow energy to cycle
b. They return nutrients to their most basic state so that they are available to plants.
c. They free up energy to be used by animals
d. They are not necessary and are harmful to ecosystems
2. Which of the following descriptions is an example of the Rule of Tens?
a. A producer uses the light of the sun to produce its food; this food is consumed by a primary or secondary consumer. Both producers and consumers are broken down by decomposers.
b. Producers are able to use 100% of the energy they absorb. However, every time that energy is consumed by another organism, 90% is lost as heat to the atmosphere.
c. Producers are able to use the light of the sun to turn carbon dioxide and water into sugar, which is consumed by all organisms for their energy.
d. Energy cycles, but nutrients flow.
3. As biodiversity increases in an ecosystem…
a. Resources become more scarce
b. Ecosystem function decreases
c. Extinctions are more likely
d. The ecosystem becomes healthier and more productive
4. Genetic diversity is best described as…
a. The diversity within a species
b. The diversity of different species
c. The diversity of ecosystems that exist
d. The diversity of atoms
5. Which is true about energy in an ecosystem?
a. Energy comes from the sun and flows through an ecosystem
b. Energy comes from the sun and cycles through an ecosystem
c. Energy comes from many sources and flows through an ecosystem
d. Energy comes from many sources and cycles through an ecosystem
6. Habitat A has 35 Apple Trees, 10 Bartlet Trees, 3 Conifers, and 2 Douglas Firs. Habitat B has 12 Apple Trees, 13 Bartlet Trees, 11 Conifers, and 14 Douglas Firs. Which has the greatest biodiversity?
a. Habitat A b. Habitat B c. You cannot tell from this data
7. A development company is planning on turning an old-growth forest into “forested subdivisions”, where luxury homes will be interspersed among sections of forest. The company justifies their deforestation by stating that “50% of the original habitat will remain untouched”. What aspect of habitat is harmed by this development?
a. Patchiness
b. Amount of Edge
c. Fragmentation
d. All of these would be negatively affected by this development
8. How does fragmentation lower species diversity?
a. It isolates breeding population
b. It lowers a population’s genetic diversity
c. Massive losses of species due to disease increases
d. All of the above are true
9. Last spring 50 deer were snared and tagged, and this spring 100 deer were snared. Of these 100 caught the second time, 10 were marked with the tags from the first catch. According to these numbers, what is the population of deer in western Racine County?
a. 50,000 b. 5,000 c. 500 d. 20
10. Prior to modern civilization, there have been major mass extinctions in geological history
a. No b. Two c. Five d. Ten
11. Whitetail deer are a…
a. Producer b. Consumer c. Decomposer d. Carnivore
12. What is a K-value for a species’ population?
a. The carrying capacity, or nutrition, shelter, and reproductive capacity of a habitat for a population
b. A measure of how prevalent traits are for high species reproductive rates
c. A measure of a species’ fecundity
d. A fixed value regarding the limit of how many individuals of a species can exist in a habitat
13. Badgers can have varying numbers of offspring, usually between 1 and 5 per birthing. In Wisconsin, the badger population is not as dense as the badger populations in other Western states. Which of the following populations of badgers would most likely exhibit r-selected traits?
a. Wisconsin
b. Wyoming
c. Both
d. Neither
14. How is human-caused habitat change different from succession?
a. They are not different; they simply have a different cause
b. Human-caused habitat-change is temporary
c. Human-caused habitat change is permanent
d. Succession occurs at a much faster rate than human-caused habitat change
15. In Wisconsin, a line can be drawn from the Northwest part of the state to the Southeast part of the state. Along this line or band, many plant and animal reach their ecological distribution. This line is referred to as the:
a. Midwest Interface
b. Tension Zone
c. Glacial Ecotone
d. Trans Wisconsin Divide
Pollution/Ecological Degradation: 5 questions (“Exam” Section)
16. Edge is harmful to a habitat because it…
a. Increases the spread of disease
b. Shows the most impact from pollution
c. Is most affected by invasive species
d. All of the above
17. A river suffers from both nonpoint and point source pollution. Why would point-source pollution be harder to fix?
a. Nonpoint source pollution is more toxic
b. Nonpoint source pollution is longer lasting
c. Nonpoint source pollution is mutagenic
d. Nonpoint source pollution does not come from a single source
18. How do greenhouse gases affect global temperatures?
a. They trap all of the heat from the sun around the earth, increasingly raising temperatures each year
b. They reduce the amount of heat that is lost into space by reflecting it back to the earth, causing warmer temperatures with higher levels
c. They give off heat when they break down
d. They lower global temperatures by reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches the earth
19. A new pesticide is released by a major agricultural chemical company. It is immediately used by area farmers because of its effectiveness. An ecologist from UW-Madison writes an editorial criticizing the pesticide due because of its potential for biomagnification. What does this mean?
a. The pesticide is a neurotoxin that will magnify the effects of existing health problems
b. The pesticide is a long-living, fat-soluble compound that will become more prevalent in the tissues of animals as you move up the food chain.
c. The pesticide is an easily biodegradable compound that ‘sticks’ in the tissue of living organisms
d. The pesticide is ineffective in killing insects due to the fact that it breaks down easily in the environment
20. How does fertilizer runoff into surface water harm aquatic ecosystems?
a. It warms the water, lowering the dissolved oxygen saturation.
b. It causes blooms of aquatic plants and algae; their decomposition lowers dissolved oxygen saturation
c. It causes blooms of aquatic plants and algae, whose photosynthesis creates toxic levels of oxygen
d. It creates a chemical toxicity in the water, causing mutations in the eggs of fish
Invasive Species: 5 questions (“Exam” Section)
21. An invasive species is…
a. A native species that has a large population
b. An introduced species in a new environment
c. An introduced species that reproduces quickly
d. A species, native or introduced, that harms native species
22. How are invasive species and the K-value of a habitat related?
a. Invasive species raise the K-value of a habitat, lowering the number of native species in a habitat
b. Invasive species lower the K-value of a habitat, lowering the number of native species in a habitat
c. Invasive species can raise or lower the K-value of a habitat, which can be good or bad for native species’ populations.
d. Invasive species do not affect the K-value of an ecosystem.
23. Which is true regarding biodiversity and invasive species?
a. As the numbers of invasive species increase, biodiversity decreases
b. As biodiversity decreases, native species become more susceptible to the effects of invasive species
c. Invasive species reduce biodiversity on all levels – genetic, species, and ecosystem
d. All of the above are true
24. Which of the following species is LEAST likely to become invasive to Wisconsin?
a. An insect from China
b. A rodent from Europe
c. A spider from Africa
d. A caterpillar from Russia
25. If invasive species are so harmful to ecosystems, why do they proliferate so abundantly after introduction?
a. Because invasive species did not evolve in the ecosystem, they do not have natural predators to limit their population.
b. Most don’t – only 10% of introduced species actually become established
c. Invasive species would reproduce endlessly if allowed to, just like any living species. Population control is not generally part of a species DNA, but a function of the interdependence of living organisms.
d. All of the above
END OF ECOLOGICAL EXAM.
Upon completing your exam, please proceed to the station with the same number as your packet. Upon completing this station, please report to the next consecutive station (i.e. if your packet is a “2”, you’d go to 3 and then 1). There is NO TALKING during this portion of the competition.
Upon completing all three (3) stations (ID, Waters, and Soils), please give your scantron to a competition official.
KEEP your packet for the Invasives Group Practicum portion – you will need the back page.
Be sure that the question number matches the question you are answering!
Station 1: Identification (Questions 26-50 “Exam” Section)
Please refer to the multiple choice option by each item. Fill in the 3-digit code of your scantron that best matches the correct answer. Make sure that the question you are answering matches the one on your sheet
Thank you to the UW Wildlife Ecology Department for their support in providing the specimens used today.
Station 2: Water Testing (#1-20 “Assessment and Solution” Section)
On the station table are three samples of water quality from the Fox and Mukwonago Rivers in Racine County. The Mukwonago River originates in a nature preserve and flows into the upper Fox River. The upper Fox River passes through farmland until it reaches a dam in Waterford. After the dam, the river becomes much smaller and passes to Burlington through a major industrial park.
1. Which of these samples was most likely taken from the Mukwonago River?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
2. Which of these samples was most likely taken from the upper Fox River?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
3. Which of these samples was most likely taken from the lower Fox River?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
4. Of the areas represented by these samples, which would we expect to be the LEAST affected by eutrophication?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
5. Of the areas represented by these samples, which would we expect to be the MOST affected by PCBs?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
6. Which of these samples would be helped the most by buffer zones, grass strips, and restored wetlands?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
7. Which of these samples would be most negatively affected by dredging a harbor?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
8. What is eutrophication?
a. A toxic level of one or more synthetic or foreign compounds in a body of surface water, reducing oxygen through the loss of aquatic plants
b. An absence of abiotic resources in a body of surface water
c. The natural or artificial process of nutrient enrichment whereby a water body becomes filled with aquatic plants and low oxygen content
d. The draining or emptying of a body of water, causing lowered water levels
9. How does eutrophication reduce the levels of oxygen in water?
a. The explosive growth of algae is followed by a massive increase in bacterial decomposition. This decomposition removes dissolved oxygen from the water at a rate greater than oxygen was produced during earlier vegetative growth.
b. As chemical toxicity rises in the water, plant productivity lessens or ceases. This lowered photosynthetic activity reduces the oxygen production in the water, lowering dissolved oxygen levels.
c. As foreign compounds enter the water, they bind oxygen and render it chemically inactive, preventing living organisms from obtaining it for cellular respiration
d. Eutrophication actually raises levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, causing toxicity.
10. Where would we be least likely to find mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies in this river?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3 d. Anywhere
11. In which sample would we expect to find aquatic earthworms at its highest level as a percentage of macroinvertebrates?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
12. Which of the following has the most appropriate water temperature for aquatic life?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3 d. All are equally appropriate
13. Which sample would we be the most likely to find near factories that discharge water used for cooling their equipment?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
14. Which of the following factors is NOT affected by temperature?
a. pH b. macroinvertebrates c. dissolved oxygen
15. Which sample has the healthiest population of macroinvertebrates?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
16. Which of the following tests would give us the most information about multiple aquatic components over a large stretch of time?
a. Dissolved Oxygen
b. pH
c. Temperature
d. Macroinvertebrates
17. Which sample is LEAST likely to be affected by biomagnification of fat-soluble compounds?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
18. Which sample would we be the most likely to be affected by thermal pollution?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
19. Which of these samples would be most affected by non-point pollution?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
20. Which of these samples would be most affected by point pollution?
a. Sample 1 b. Sample 2 c. Sample 3
Station 3: Soils Testing (#21-37 “Assessment and Solution” Section)
On the station table are soil sample reports for an area farmer, Bucky Badger. Mr. Badger works for the UW on a test plot on Breeze Terrace. Mr. Badger is about to begin spring planting and is debating what crop to plant and whether or not to fertilize the field before or after planting. While he was there, he also had soil tested from the Lakeshore Nature Preserve forested area.